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100+ YEARS OF SERVICE

Cleaning innovations for the past century...setting the standards... and striving to exceed it

The parent company of Nilfisk-Advance is NKT (Northern Kabel and Telegraph), located in Copenhagen, Denmark. NKT is a 100-year-old public corporation manufacturing cables, fiber optics and switching mechanisms.

The company employs 5,000 people globally and markets hundreds of different models of floor cleaning and maintenance equipment through a global network of distributors. Nilfisk-Advance maintains manufacturing facilities in Denmark, Italy, Sweden and the United States of America. Nilfisk-Advance machines include Advance, Nilfisk, Kent, Euroclean, Gerni and Pulimat brands. They are sold in 80 countries around the world including North and South America, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. European, Middle East and South African sales and marketing activities are managed through a network of Nilfisk-Advance subsidiaries.

Video

Timeline

1910Merritt Pond started the Advance Machine Shop. The business repaired equipment for the grain milling industry in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the site was a little wooden building with a dirt floor located at 2613 Southeast Fourth Street, not far from the mills.

1930Advance began making the “new” Lowboy™ floor machines (called Lowboy because it could reach under desks and furniture). By then Advance terrazzo machines were the standard of the industry, and the business was well enough established to survive the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

1955Several other new Advance products emerged, including the Gyro™, Pacemaker™ (both floor scrubbers), and Hydro-Vac™ (a wet/dry tank vacuum). Later the same year, Advance moved into a 10,000 square foot building on Washington Avenue in Minneapolis while still retaining the original location on Southeast Fourth Street.

1956The first Advance national sales meeting was held at the Washington Avenue location. There were eight salesmen and less than forty distributors nationwide.

1958The factory employed forty people and needed room to grow. The Company bought a 105,000 square foot building located in Spring Park, not far from Minneapolis. Factory and headquarter offices remained in Spring Park for almost 30 years.

1958The first Convertamatic™ automatic scrubber was introduced. It was called a Convertamatic because it could quickly be converted from an automatic floor scrubber to a dry floor polisher and vacuum. The recovery unit could also be lifted out and used separately. The Convertamatic introduced a patented Power-Flo™ self-propelling drive, the same drive system used to propel many Advance automatic scrubbers today.

1974The Industrial Division was established. The manufacturing and sale of an industrial line, including large, heavy-duty rider sweepers and scrubbers, presented a new growth opportunity for the Company.

1976An international office was established in Luxembourg.

1978The Spring Park plant was expanded to 250,000 square feet, and a 200,000 square foot assembly operation and distribution center was added in Plymouth, another suburb of Minneapolis.

1985The international facility moved from Luxembourg to the United Kingdom with the establishment of a 35,000 square foot manufacturing plant and office in Cardiff, Wales. A warehouse/office was also set up in Monheim, Germany the same year.

1985Ground was broken and construction began on the main building at the Plymouth, Minnesota location. The new construction consolidated Advance corporate Headquarters, manufacturing and distribution, bringing all U.S. facilities together in a 500,000 square foot complex.

1989From its beginning, Advance Machine Company had been a family-owned organization under the management of Merritt Pond, his son Harold, and finally Harold’s son Robert. Then in January of 1989, Advance was sold to a group of financial investors.

2001On November 1, a truck left our dock loaded with cleaning equipment headed for the great city of New York. The final destination was Capital Supply (a longtime Advance Dealer) who volunteered to help us deliver these products to six schools at “ground-zero” for much needed cleaning. These six schools are part of the New York Board of Education. Once the schools were thoroughly cleaned, the equipment was sold and 100% of the sale proceeds were donated to the American Red Cross on behalf of Advance and Capital Supply.

February 2004Nilfisk-Advance, Inc. is pleased to announce the acquistion of ECOLOGICA a top manufacturer of quality industrial and outdoor sweepers. ECOLOGICA, located in Parma, Italy has a long history and an excellent reputation within the European equipment market and allows Nilfisk-Advance, Inc. to move into the ourdoor sweeper market.

July 2004Nilfisk-Advance, Inc. completed the aquisition of the Alto group, to become the world's largest manufacturer of professional cleaning equipment with annual sales of $800 MUSD and 3800 employees. Manufacturing facilities now exist in North America, Europe and Asia, with sales of our products through 31 wholly owned sales subsidiaries and 1000's of Distributers.